The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision Tolan v. Cotton, 572 US __, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 a year ago. But, many courts still do not appreciate its holding. I wrote about the decision in Tolan v. Cotton here. The decision in Tolan essentially fusses at lower courts for not reviewing
Litigation and trial practice
Jury Finds Against Employee Despite Direct Evidence
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
I tell my clients this can happen, but they usually just do not believe me. Good cases do sometimes lose at trial. Look at what happened in Wei v. Southwest Research Institute No. 12-CV-00872 (W.D. Tex. 2015). Qiang Wei is from China. He speaks Chinese. It seems obvious that a Chinese person might speak Chinese,…
Schlumberger Seeks to Overturn Jury Verdict
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Schlumberger cannot accept its loss in a recent jury trial. The large oil field service company has asked U.S. District Judge Lamberth for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. That is, it has asked the judge to toss the jury verdict saying the verdict lacked evidentiary support. See San Antonio Express News report (account required). The…
Texas Whistleblower Protects State, Local Government Employees
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Texas has limited whistleblower protection. Texas Government Code Sec. 554 protects public employees who report violations of law to the appropriate law enforcement agency. See statute. The Texas Whistleblower Act provides for a 90 days deadline in which to file suit. It also requires an employee to first file a grievance if the state…
Texas Statutes of Limitation
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Defamation, Litigation and trial practice
In the legal business, lawsuits are governed by deadlines referred to as “statutes of limitation.” A lawsuit must be filed within the applicable statute of limitation. A suit based on personal injury must be filed within two years of the act complained of. If the last day of the two year period falls on a…
Former Law Firm Associate Wins Less than Hoped for
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In a high profile lawsuit, a young female lawyer sued her former employer, Faruqi and Faruqi, a large national law firm, for sex harassment. Alexandra Marchuk obviously hoped for more, but the jury only awarded her $140,000. The award included $90,000 in compensatory damages (i.e, emotional suffering), and $50,000 in punitive damages. See Above the…
Jury Continues to Deliberate in Veteran’s Case
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
The jury in Iraq veteran Juan Alonzo-Miranda’s case deliberated all day Friday and still could not reach a verdict. At one point, they sent the judge a note saying they could not reach a unanimous agreement. Judge Lamberth, however, told them to continue deliberating. The two opposing lawyers agreed they would accept a 7-1 verdict.…
Schlumberger Tried to do All It Could to Accommodate
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
On the third day of Juan Alonzo-Miranda’s trial, he was cross-examined by the defense lawyer. The lawyer elicited testimony from the mechanic that when he was evacuated by ambulance to the VA hospital in May, 2012, the emergency room examination revealed problems with his wife and that he was contemplating suicide. But, the report did…
Twitter Relationship Casts Judge’s Objectivity into Question
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Texas requires lobbyists to register. But, what happens when a political activist lobbies members of the state legislature? Does that political activist now have to register as a lobbyist? Michael Quinn Sullivan, a conservative political activist, lobbied members of the state legislature in 2010-2011, but did not register. The Texas Ethics Commission fined Mr. Sullivan…
UIW Claims to be Arm of the Government
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
One of the things about litigation is that strategy often takes precedence over substance. In the Redus family lawsuit against University of the Incarnate Word, the university asked to dismiss the lawsuit. UIW claimed to be an “arm of the government” such that they would be immune to suits for personal injury. Cough, cough. Yes,…